Asked by: Stephen McPartland (Conservative - Stevenage)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to ensure that passengers who have to travel on a bus replacement service in lieu of a planned rail journey are compensated; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Paul Maynard
Passengers rightly demand improvements to our railway services. That is why we are currently investing billions each year across the network. However, from time to time, it may be necessary to replace a train service with a bus or coach. Train companies’ responsibilities to passengers who have purchased a rail ticket are set out in the National Rail Conditions of Travel (NRCoT). The NRCoT apply on rail replacement services as for other train services, including the entitlement to compensation for any delayed journey, which is based on the advertised timetable. There is no specific entitlement to compensation relating to journeys involving the use of a rail replacement bus which run to the advertised timetable.
Wherever engineering work is planned in advance, the train company or retailer will make passengers aware of any need to use a rail replacement service, including any altered times in timetable information, so that they may make an informed decision about their travel plans. If the replacement is at short notice, and the person wishing to travel cannot complete their journey because the company is unable to transport their luggage, articles, animals and/or cycles by road vehicle, and they therefore decide not to travel, they are entitled to claim a refund without any administration charge.
Asked by: Stephen McPartland (Conservative - Stevenage)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will introduce a consumer satisfaction threshold for rail franchises; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Paul Maynard
My Department is committed to driving improvements in the passenger’s experience. That is why we are including challenging customer satisfaction targets in Franchise Agreements which are based on the results of the National Rail Passenger Survey. Where the targets are not met, train companies are required to make financial investments to make sure that passengers get the standards of service that they rightly deserve. We are also continuing to review our policies in this area to ensure that passengers are placed at the heart of our franchise objectives and incentives.
Asked by: Stephen McPartland (Conservative - Stevenage)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will bring forward proposals to restrict the use of bus replacement services for rail journeys only in the event of engineering works on rail lines.
Answered by Paul Maynard
The use of rail replacement buses is always regrettable when the passenger rightly expects a train to complete his or her journey. However, restricting the use of buses to planned engineering works only will deprive many people of transport when serious incidents occur, for example when the railway is closed to deal with the aftermath of an fatality or other operating incident. The Department will continue to work with the industry to limit the use of bus replacements services and therefore the impact on passengers. However, in a complex and growing network buses may offer the best solution to retain a consistent, reliable service for passengers in certain circumstances.
Asked by: Stephen McPartland (Conservative - Stevenage)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to encourage train operating companies to introduce automatic compensation payments on delayed services; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Paul Maynard
We already require operators for new franchises to actively promote passengers’ awareness of their rights and to make the claims process swift and simple, including through the introduction of new technology.
We are also working with existing train operating companies to ensure that passengers’ awareness of the compensation they may be entitled to is increased and to make it as easy as possible to claim.
Some train operating companies have already introduced fully automated compensation and the Department has been working with others who are planning to do so.